News of the Day – 11/11/08

Derek Jeter will be gracing one of five regional covers for USA Today Sports Weekly’s Baseball Insider Special Edition, on newsstands today through December 15. The Special Edition “provides fans with a unique ranking and analysis of all 30 major league teams … based on a formula that measures a teams’ success over five years (2004-2008), including post-season and regular season success, number of draft picks who’ve reached the majors, attendance and affordability for fans attending home games.”

Joba Chamberlain garnered one 3rd-place vote in the BBWAA’s AL Rookie of the Year balloting. Evan Longoria was the well-deserved winner. (Shield your eyes before going to the link … its an “electric lime” background the BBWAA has chosen!)

Maybe Brian Cashman is following the lead of Theo Epstein in terms of continuing with the same organizational philosophy for 2009. As quoted in this piece on MLB.com today:

“New York deserves a champion, and that’s part of our mission statement,” Cashman said. “We’re trying to build for the future but win in the present. It’s that balancing act which keeps that payroll to the level it is. Our ownership has always been fantastic in giving us the resources we need to fix what’s broken. They’ll be there again for us.”

At ESPN.com, Sean McAdam has a brief “Winter Forecast” for the Bombers. Nothing there that we Banterers don’t already know, but …

Have your tickets ready as you head over to a site called SecondAveSagas.com for an update on the new Metro North Yankee Stadium stop (thanks to LoHud’s PeteAbe for the link).

As quoted in the Taiwan News (yes … I do indeed span the globe for my beloved Banter), Chien-min Wang assured the Taiwan public that his ankle injury has completely healed. The article also states “He also promised that he will take care of himself to prevent further injuries. Wang said that his physical therapist warned him against jogging since his ankles are still too weak for intense activities.” And you MUST check out the outfit he had on upon arriving in Taiwan …. you go boy!

Over at BaseballAmerica.com, John Manuel gives us the rundown on the Yanks’ Top 10 Prospects (as I alluded to over the weekend). If you like gazing into a crystal ball, Manuel takes a crack at the 2012 starting line-up (warning: he thinks Jeter will still be manning short …. aiiiiiii!).

Anthony DiComo of MLB.com has an update on the movement of Monument Park from the old stadium to the new one. Workers began taking down the team’s 16 retired numbers and their corresponding placards on Monday, packaging them for safety during their move across the street. The monuments — statues of Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Mickey Mantle, Joe DiMaggio and Miller Huggins, along with a memorial to the victims of the Sept. 11, 2001, tragedy — are set to follow, with Ruth’s moving to the new park on Wednesday.

What’s going on in the Hawaiian Winter League? Tim Bontemps at the Post has the latest. The best performance so far appears to be that of Jeremy Bleich. The former Stanford lefty is 3-1 with a 2.05 ERA in 30.2 innings over six starts. He has struck out 31 and walked nine, and is pitching to a 1.08 WHIP.

There are 183 free agents to be had this off-season, and Yahoo! Sports‘ Jeff Passan has decided to rank them all. He says you can bookmark that page and track the signings as they occur. By the way, Abreu comes in at #13 overall, Mussina (#27), Pettitte (#28), Giambi (#31), I-Rod (#35), Marte (#56), Ponson (#116) and Pavano (#118). ESPN also offers a free agent tracker (unranked) here.

The Yankees and Cisco Systems will be holding a joint press conference Tuesday morning to announce fan-friendly technological innovations at the new stadium, reports CNNMoney.com.

“I want my D V D ..”: Mark Feinsand at the Daily News is offering readers the chance to win a copy of the DVD set “The New York Yankees: Essential Games at Yankee Stadium”, simply by guessing where five specific free agents will end up signing. The set includes: 1976 ALCS GM 5 (Chambliss’ HR), 1977 WS GM 6 (Reggie’s three homers), 1995 ALDS GM 2 (Leyritz’s 15th inning HR), 1996 WS GM 6 (Yankees win first title in 18 years), 2001 WS GM 4 (Tino’s homer off BK Kim) and 2003 ALCS GM 7 (Aaron Boone). There are also plenty of special features including Ron Guidry’s 18-strikeout game, Bobby Murcer’s dramatic hit in the first game after Thurman Munson’s funeral, Scott Brosius’ homer against Arizona and Derek Jeter’s dive into the stands.

In more “stuff you can win” news, Will Carroll is offering three free months of BP.com Premium service if you can guess the team, # of years, total $ and signing date for C.C. Sabathia.